Liam Barrett serves as an Associate Attorney in the Civil Rights practice group at Singleton Schreiber, where he is dedicated to advocating for individuals whose voices are too often unheard. With a strong foundation in public interest law, Liam has represented clients across a range of practice areas, forums, and jurisdictions, focusing on advancing justice and protecting constitutional rights. Before joining Singleton Schreiber, Liam practiced family and immigration law at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., and later represented tenants in eviction cases with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego. He also gained valuable experience through two clerkships in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Liam earned his law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he developed his passion for civil rights work as a member of the Civil Rights Clinic, representing clients in federal courts across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. He received his bachelor's degree in political science–American politics, magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego. Born and raised in San Diego, Liam remains deeply connected to his community through volunteer and civic engagement efforts. Outside of work, he enjoys surfing, reading, and spending time with family and friends while exploring his hometown.

Jack B. Winters, Jr. is of counsel to Singleton Schreiber’s Insurance Recovery and Bad Faith practice group. He has over 46 years of experience in all areas of civil litigation, with a particular expertise in insurance bad faith and coverage litigation. The recipient of the San Diego Trial Lawyers Award for Outstanding Trial Lawyer, Mr. Winters has successfully prosecuted bad faith cases to trial and verdict against Farmers Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance Company, Transamerica Insurance Company, CalFarm Insurance Company, and New Hampshire Insurance Company, among others. His 1991 award against Transamerica Insurance Company was the largest award against an insurer on an individual policy in the history of the State. After his recent experience as lead counsel in the landmark case of McHugh v. Protective Life, Mr. Winters is considered the foremost expert in California on issues regarding life insurance policies. In another landmark case decided in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Winters became one of the few attorneys to successfully litigate a multi- million dollar ERISA class action case in California. Mr. Winters is a former insurance defense counsel and one of the founders of the San Diego Defense Lawyers. He was trained in all forms of insurance litigation through his association and then partnership in the firm of McCormick and Royce. He founded his own firm in 1984, focusing on insurance coverage and insurance bad faith litigation. Mr. Winters also consults as an expert witness. He has qualified as an expert on issues related to insurance coverage, interpretation of insurance coverage, and areas of the law related to insurance litigation. Mr. Winters holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and earned his law degree at the University of San Diego School of Law. He is admitted to practice in California state and federal courts.

Susan Dussault is a member of our firm’s Fire Litigation practice group, where she concentrates on representing victims of wildfires started by electric utilities in California and Oregon. Ms. Dussault has extensive experience handling complex litigation matters on both the plaintiff and defense sides. She has worked at large national firms, small boutique firms, as in-house counsel, and as a managing attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal assistance to sexual assault survivors. In addition, Ms. Dussault has directed a human rights law school clinic, taught an immigration law foundation class, volunteered with several nonprofit organizations that serve immigrants, and provided significant pro bono representation to noncitizens seeking to change their legal immigration status. Before relocating to California from Oregon in 2021, Ms. Dussault drafted, lobbied for, testified on, and saw the passage of a bill that enables more Oregon youths to qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile status. Ms. Dussault graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School, where she volunteered with the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, spent a semester as a federal district court extern, and worked in Stanford’s Office of the General Counsel. She graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols Scholar. As an undergraduate, she also studied at Harvard Radcliffe College and in Toulon, France, and Valencia, Spain. Ms. Dussault is admitted to practice in California and Oregon. When she’s not working, Ms. Dussault enjoys playing tennis with her husband, skiing with their older son, watching their younger son play baseball, walking on the beach with her dog, going to the theater with friends, and traveling with just about anyone.

Noah Huston’s decision to pursue a career in criminal defense is rooted in personal experience. Throughout his youth and adult life, he witnessed family members struggling through the justice system without access to adequate legal representation. These experiences instilled in Noah a profound understanding of the importance of advocating for the accused. Noah now dedicates his career in criminal defense law to helping others through some of the most difficult times in their lives. As a trusted San Diego criminal defense attorney, Noah’s compassionate approach to law is driven by a commitment to defend his clients’ rights, providing the kind of advocacy and support that can make a meaningful difference.

Having recently earned his Juris Doctor degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, Ben brings a fresh perspective and a deep understanding of the law to his practice. His commitment to justice and unwavering determination to protect the rights of his clients make him a valuable asset to the firm. Prior to pursuing his legal education, Ben graduated with honors from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in General Business from the Honors College in May 2020. During his time at the university, he was an active member of The Carl A. Elliot Society, demonstrating his commitment to academic excellence and leadership. With a strong academic background and a drive to excel in the legal field, Ben is poised to make a meaningful impact at Sevens Legal and in the criminal defense community.

Jay Monico, a senior associate attorney at Sevens Legal Criminal Lawyers in San Diego, brings a unique blend of life experience, legal expertise, and unwavering dedication to his clients. With a background rooted in service as a U.S. Marine and a deep commitment to justice, Jay offers compassionate, bilingual representation to individuals facing complex legal challenges.

Leslie A. Brueckner is a Partner at Singleton Schreiber with over 35 years of appellate litigation experience across a broad spectrum of cases, including constitutional, consumer protection, antitrust, bankruptcy, class actions, environmental law, and more. Prior to joining Singleton Schreiber, Leslie was a Partner at a prominent national law firm, where she helped lead the firm’s national Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group. Before then, Leslie spent nearly three decades at Public Justice, a national advocacy organization, where she argued and won numerous high-profile appeals, including unanimous decisions from both the California and United States Supreme Courts. (Leslie’s 2019 oral argument in Noel v. Thrifty, a unanimous class action ruling from the California Supreme Court, can be accessed via this link. Her 2002 argument in Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting federal preemption of tort claims, can be accessed via this link). Leslie also founded Public Justice’s Food Project, which used strategically targeted litigation to address abuses in American’s industrial animal agriculture system. With decades of appellate experience, Leslie plays a key role in enhancing Singleton Schreiber’s ability to manage complex appeals and develop successful litigation strategies. Her extensive track record in high-stakes cases across a range of legal areas continues to solidify the firm’s standing as a leader in precedent-setting litigation for plaintiffs nationwide. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and summa cum laude graduate of U.C. Berkeley (where she was recognized as the Most Distinguished Graduating Senior in her class of over 5,000 students), Leslie has been awarded the Pro Bono Achievement Award from the Animal Legal Defense Fund; the Women’s Consumer Advocate of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys of California; the Appellate Advocacy Award from the Pound Civil Justice Institute for her 2017 California Supreme Court victory in T.H. v. Novartis (CA 2017), and the Dale Haralson Fallout Award from the Western Trial Lawyers Association. Leslie was also a Finalist for the Appellate Lawyer of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. In addition to her litigation work, Leslie has taught appellate advocacy at the Georgetown University Law Center and the American University, Washington College of Law.

Knut S. Johnson, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is the practice group leader for our Environmental Litigation & Policy practice group. He brings over 30 years of experience as a trial attorney to Singleton Schreiber. Representing clients in federal and state courts across the nation, he has handled complex trials, appeals, and habeas corpus proceedings and litigated cases alleging violations of environmental laws, including under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Mr. Johnson’s diverse and sophisticated litigation practice has included the representation of many clients, from large corporations to small business owners, and from judges to doctors to entire communities. Together with his many trials and appeals, he has represented clients before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Mueller Special Counsel’s Office investigation. Mr. Johnson has been recognized with many awards and honors, including the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, unanimous “Well Qualified” rating (the highest ABA rating) after nomination to U.S. District Court, 2020; Top 50 Attorneys, San Diego Super Lawyers, 2020 and 2019; University of San Diego, School of Law, Distinguished Alumni Award, 2018; America’s Top 100 Attorneys Lifetime Achievement Selection, 2018; Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017; Lawyer of the Year, White Collar Criminal Defense, San Diego, Best Lawyers in America, 2016; and the E. Stanley Conant Award, Defenders Organizations of San Diego, 2005 and 2013. He graduated cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law and before his legal career, Mr. Johnson studied petroleum engineering and geology as an undergraduate and graduate student at Tulane University, where he received the W.A. Tarr Award for outstanding Earth Sciences Graduate. He then worked as a petroleum geologist for a major oil company, where he mapped oil reserves and worked on production estimates and on rigs during the final stages of drilling. He also received a significant amount of professional training in areas like well completion, exploration, and related topics. Mr. Johnson is licensed to practice in the state courts of Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. In addition, he is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as many different U.S. District Courts. He is also admitted to practice before the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands. He has served as the Chair of the Practitioners Advisory Group to the United States Sentencing Commission and testified before the Commission on several occasions. He presently serves on the Ethics Committee for the San Diego County Bar Association.

Paul Starita is a Partner at Singleton Schreiber with over 30 years of experience as a trial attorney. He exclusively represents plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury and mass tort matters in State and Federal courts. He leads the Fire Litigation practice group at Singleton Schreiber and litigates a wide range of cases including Personal Injury, Fire, Mass Torts, and more. Before joining the Singleton Schreiber team, Paul served the people of San Diego and Imperial counties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for over 18 years. Paul represented the United States, its agencies, officers, and employees in a wide variety of civil litigation matters, including cases involving industrial and vehicle accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, constitutional torts, and employment. In addition, Paul prosecuted civil health care and procurement fraud cases under the False Claims Act. Paul was a federal prosecutor for 10 years before serving as a civil trial attorney. He investigated and prosecuted more than 1,000 felony cases involving corruption, drug trafficking/organized crime, human trafficking, money laundering, and violent crime. He has tried more than 50 jury and bench trials in Federal court. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Paul spent two years at a mid-size law firm in Newport Beach, California, where he litigated land use claims for individual landowners and developers throughout Southern California. Paul proudly served our nation as a U.S. Marine, on active duty and in the Reserve. He attained the rank of Colonel and served in various leadership and legal roles, including Military Trial Judge and Appellate Judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. For many years, Paul also advised senior government officials on environmental compliance and litigation matters in the Marine Corps’ western region. He also served as the Marine Corps’ lead counsel on regional Clean Air Act matters involving hazardous air pollutants / toxic air contaminants, emissions trading, compliance with national ambient air quality standards, mobile source emissions, stationary source compliance, and fuels. Early in his career, he had a robust trial practice as a military prosecutor involving criminal conduct ranging from DUI to murder. While our nation was at war, Paul was handpicked and returned to active duty to defend Marines accused of war crimes related to combat operations in Iraq. Paul attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School and holds a Master of Laws (LLM) with a concentration in Environmental Law from the University of San Diego School of Law. Paul is currently an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he instructs first-year law students on civil trial practice.

Alicia Zimmerman is a partner in Singleton Schreiber’s San Diego office and leads our Fire Litigation practice group, where she oversees a team of more than 100 employees. Ms. Zimmerman is an experienced litigator, well-versed in handling multi-party, complex cases in federal court. Before joining our firm, she worked for Scott+Scott, litigating antitrust class actions on behalf of plaintiffs in various consumer and pharmaceutical cases. Subsequently, she worked at an Am Law 100 international firm, where her practice focused on pursuing and maximizing claims on behalf of national and international clients in complex, financial antitrust settlements. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, Ms. Zimmerman served as a judicial extern for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Zimmerman is admitted to practice in California. She also serves as a member of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego Women’s Caucus Committee. Ms. Zimmerman is a certified yoga-sculpt instructor and loves spending time with her family, climbing mountains, and relaxing at the beach.